Carson City hosts NPA convention

A record number of people are expected to attend the Better Newspaper Contest awards banquet this weekend in Carson City.

The event serves as the annual convention for the Nevada Press Association. A total of 240 people have signed up for a variety of events, including a writing seminar where Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith will speak, said NPA Executive Director Kent Lauer.

Awards will be given in a number of categories, including editorial of the year, story of the year and for advertising and photography. Newspapers from around the state, including the Nevada Appeal, The Record Courier and the Tahoe Daily Tribune, the Las Vegas Sun, the Las Vegas Review Journal and the Lahontan Valley News, will receive awards.

Longtime Nevada journalists Ken Ingram, Bruce Bledsoe, Roy Vanett and Robert Macy will be inducted into the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame Saturday, Lauer said.

Ingram worked for the Fallon Standard from 1947 to 1957 as a reporter, assistant editor, advertising manager and head of the newspaper's commercial printing.

Bledsoe worked for the Reno Gazette-Journal for more than 20 years as an editorial writer. He was a Nevada journalist for more than 40 years before retiring in July.

Vanett spent 34 years at the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a reporter, copy editor, assistant news editor and city editor.

Macy worked for the Associated Press for 30 years, including19 as a correspondent in Las Vegas.

Nevada Appeal publisher Jeff Ackerman will be master of ceremonies for the awards banquet Saturday night at the Pinon Plaza.

"He's been doing it a long time and does a great job, so we ask him to come back every year," Lauer said.

Steve Benson will be this year's guest speaker. Benson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Arizona Republic.

"We were lucky he was available to speak to our group," Lauer said.

Mark Hinueber, an attorney for Donrey Media Group, and JoNell Thomas, an NPA attorney, will conduct a legal seminar Saturday morning.

Pauline Arrillaga, Southwest regional writer for the Associated Press and Dave Moore, editor of Nevada Magazine, will join Smith for the writing seminar.

Russell Viers, of DIGIVersity, will also speak on the future of newspaper and print technology at a Saturday luncheon, Lauer said.

The Nevada Press Association is the trade organization for Nevada's newspaper industry. It is a nonprofit organization representing 11 daily and 30 weekly newspapers in Nevada and the Lake Tahoe region of Northern California.

The association is dedicated to representing the common interests of Nevada newspapers, furthering the public's right to know through an understanding that strong newspapers are a cornerstone of a democratic society, promoting a closer fellowship within the newspaper fraternity, encouraging the elevation of journalistic standards and promoting the value of newspaper advertising.

Last year's convention was held in Henderson and in Yerington the year before.